The king’s words are quoted in direct speech. He addresses Esther in formal court language, using her title of queen. But his words are kind, and care must be taken not to make his questions sound accusing or unkind. The language should not be casual. The king’s assurance that her wish will be granted is expressed with a passive verb in Revised Standard Version, reflecting the meaning of the Hebrew original. The king avoids referring to himself in the first person, except where he speaks of his kingdom.
The king asks two parallel questions. The first is general, “What [is it] for you?” The second is specific, “What [is] your request?” He concludes with a promise.
The half of my kingdom poses two potential problems for the translator. These are in the words half and kingdom. If fractions are difficult to express, the half may be restated as “the one part” or “the one side out of two.” Kingdom here refers specifically to the territory or the land over which the king rules (compare Mark 6.23). The king himself makes this clear by specifying my kingdom.
Septuagint 5.3
In the Greek version of this verse, the king asks the two questions that occur in the Hebrew version of verse 6 below. Today’s English Version translates the questions to harmonize with its translation of the Hebrew version of this verse. The Greek lacks the title “Queen” before Esther’s name.
Some languages may use a syntactic pattern similar to the Greek in expressing the king’s promise, “Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be yours.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Noss, Philip A. A Handbook on the Book of Esther — Deuterocanon: The Greek Text. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .